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Chemical companies cleared in Modesto groundwater pollution case; Modesto sued a host of companies involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale and use of perchloroethylene, also known as PERC or PCE, in 1998

Posted by: Maven on May 22, 2009 at 8:28 am

Many thanks to George for sending me this link! From Law.com:

After five months of trial in San Francisco Superior Court, a jury cleared a handful of chemical companies on Monday of nearly all the claims brought against them by the city of Modesto, Calif., in the latest phase of a decade-old groundwater pollution case. The jury did award Modesto about $18.3 million in damages to cover cleanup costs, but that amount could be nullified by settlements the city has already reached with other defendants.

The jury also decided that the remaining defendants, including the Dow Chemical Co., did not act with malice when they manufactured and distributed chemicals, such as perchloroethylene, to dry cleaners in Modesto. That rules out punitive damages, which could have been much larger.

Dow spokesman Jarod Davis wrote in an e-mail that the company was “pleased” by the verdict and that Modesto had failed to prove most of its claims.

Duane Miller, a partner at Sacramento, Calif.’s Miller, Axline & Sawyer who represents Modesto, disagreed, saying, “There’s no question, overall, that the plaintiffs have been successful in this case.”

Modesto sued a host of companies involved in the manufacture, distribution, sale and use of perchloroethylene, also known as PERC or PCE, in 1998. The city alleged, among other things, that the defendants made a defective product and negligently allowed the toxic chemical to threaten Modesto’s drinking water by failing to recall the PCE or to warn dry cleaners about the dangers of letting PCE wash into sewers.

Since then, the case has passed from one San Francisco judge to another, and a team of defense attorneys brought in from around the country has succeeded in whittling down many of the claims against the companies.

Read more from Law.com by clicking here.

May 22, 2009 · Filed Under San Joaquin Valley

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